Artwork Page for The Life of the Virgin

Details / Information for The Life of the Virgin

Series Title: The Life of the Virgin

The Life of the Virgin

c. 1510–11

Albrecht Dürer

(German, 1471–1528)
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Culture
Germany, early 16th Century
Medium
woodcut
Credit Line
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1959.99
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Dürer's cycle depicting Mary's life, which gained instant acclaim, was remarkable not only for its theological accuracy but also for its unprecedented wealth of detail.

Description

The frontispiece of the series is a modification of the devotional imagery Dürer used in his depictions of the Virgin and Child standing in a crescent moon. Here, he also incorporated the themes of the nursing Madonna and the Madonna of Humility, often shown seated. In doing so, Dürer fused the Virgin’s regal, motherly, and humble natures into one striking image.
A vertically oriented woodcut in dense black-inked fine lines depicts the Virgin Mary seated on a large crescent moon, nursing the baby Christ. Both have light skin tones; Mary gazes down with a crown of stars floating above her head. She wears voluminous, draped robes with many curving folds. Straight lines radiate from behind them toward star-filled corners. Tasseled pillows rest on the moon's tips above a clouded sky.

The Life of the Virgin

c. 1510–11

Albrecht Dürer

(German, 1471–1528)
Germany, early 16th Century

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